FAIRBANKS RANCH 
A 16-year-old Encinitas boy who was a starting safety for the Santa Fe Christian High School football team was killed in a crash early yesterday morning in Fairbanks Ranch.

William Wardrip, a rear-seat passenger, died in the single-vehicle crash on San Dieguito Road near Circa del Norte about 3:30 a.m., the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said.

The driver, who had recently received his license, was heading west in a sport utility vehicle when he lost control on a curve, crossed into the eastbound lane, hit a curb and rolled several times, California Highway Patrol spokesman Eric Newbury said.

William was the only person in the 1999 Lexus GL470 not wearing a seat belt; he was thrown from the SUV, Newbury said. The driver and three other passengers, all younger than 18, were not injured but were taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Authorities said alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash. The CHP said the SUV was traveling at an unknown speed. Just before the curve is an electronic speed sign that would have told the driver how fast the SUV was going.

Santa Fe Christian head football coach Nick Ruscetta said William and his friends made a “huge error in judgment” by being out so late. But Ruscetta also said they were involved in nothing more serious than throwing water balloons and toilet paper at friends' houses.

“You could not say a bad word about William,” Ruscetta said. “William embodied what our team is all about: small but with a big heart.”

The crash occurred about 11 hours after Santa Fe Christian won its seventh straight game of the season, a 33-13 victory over El Cajon's Christian High School on Saturday afternoon. William, a junior, played on both sides of the ball, starting at right guard and strong safety, and made several tackles in the home game in Solana Beach.

More than 150 students, friends and family members visited the Wardrip home yesterday after hearing the news.

Eric Wardrip, William's father, called his son a “great kid” and said the family is in shock.

“If he had a seat belt on he'd still be with us,” Wardrip said. “It's a senseless thing. We're just devastated by it and happy to have the support of our family and friends at this time.”

Eric Wardrip, an anesthesiologist, directed all questions about the circumstances of the crash to authorities.

New drivers younger than 18 are issued provisional licenses for the first 12 months that prohibit them from carrying passengers younger than 20 unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. Additionally, they are prohibited from driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Newbury said 65 percent of all vehicular teenage fatalities happen when another teenager is driving.

Skid marks at the crash scene showed the trajectory of the SUV before it rolled over, and shards of glass and pieces of a broken taillight remained on the side of the road. Smashed trees marked where the Lexus came to rest in an area known for its expensive homes.

This is the second incident this month in which a teenage passenger was killed in an early-morning crash.

On Oct. 4, Alex Capozza, 17, a senior at Torrey Pines High School, was in a car with a group of friends when the driver lost control on a winding road in Rancho Santa Fe about 1:30 a.m. Capozza was thrown from the car and died at the scene.

Investigators said the 17-year-old driver in the Rancho Santa Fe crash had been drinking and his blood-alcohol level was 0.10 percent an hour after the crash. That exceeds the 0.08 percent legal limit for adult drivers in California. He has been charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated and two counts of drunken driving causing injury.

Yesterday, William Wardrip's football teammate and close friend Henry Johnson said William was the best friend anybody could ever ask for.

“He could always, always cheer you up,” Henry said. “He would always back you up. I feel like a lot of my support is gone and I'm never going to be able to replace it. But I do know he is in a better place.”

In addition to his father, William Wardrip is survived by his mother, Sara; his brother, Edward, who attends New York University; and his younger sister, Elizabeth.